State of the Arts
2017-18
Legacy Visual and Performing Arts High School
June 18, 2018
Dr. Edward A. Trimis, Principal
Legacy Visual and Performing Arts High School is a student-centered, creative learning community that engages students intellectually and artistically, instilling responsible citizenship and academic rigor for college and career preparedness.
Welcome to the "State of the Arts"
Welcome to our latest Legacy VAPA State of the Arts newsletter! As I share the great news of our 6th year, and my 2nd year, at Legacy Visual and Performing Arts High School, once again I am astonished how fast time flies and how we have been able to accomplish so much in such little time. We are continuing to move forward with new initiatives and plans to realize our vision of becoming a student-centered, creative learning community that engages students intellectually and artistically, instilling responsible citizenship and academic rigor for college and career readiness. That said, we may be working with our stakeholder groups to develop a new strategic plan as we plan for our 7th year (a WASC Accreditation Year) and the next 4 years in to our 10th Anniversary. This year was another ground-breaking year as we added new programs and developed new partnerships from new supports and programs from the Educare Foundation and Beyond the Bell (after school dance and color guard, ACE program, senior activities), to National Honor Society, Water Polo, Link Crew, the Leader in Me program, and more. While at this printing we are still awaiting initial district approval to transition to becoming a district-wide magnet school, we are really excited about all the future holds for our school community! So here we go with the updates! Be sure to click the hyperlinks in RED at the bottom of each article to see more photos and enrich your experience!

           -Dr. Edward Trimis, Principal

create. inspire. unify. educate.
Legacy VAPA High School
overcoming adversity
VAPA Class of 2018 Commencement
Congrats to the Legacy VAPA Class 2018 who graduated on June 7, 2018. The graduation ceremony was at South Gate Municipal Auditorium and was attended by teachers, staff, family, and friends as well as School Board Member Ref Rodriguez and representatives from LAUSD Local District East. A big thank you to senior class adviser, Erica Alvarez, senior college counselor, Heather Simmons, senior teachers and support staff. The ceremony was awesome! Special congratulations to our senior class president (Raven Bealey) for her spot-on poem that opened the ceremony, our valedictorians (Natalie Gonzalez and Daisy Loya) and salutatorian (Carolina Sanchez) for their amazing speeches, the band and mariachi ensemble for their beautiful performances, and the senior choir and senior flash mob dancers for their performance. I wish all of our graduates the best as they move forward to the next leg of their life’s journey!

Senior Breakfast and Cap Decorating Close the Year
Senior Breakfast and Grad Rehearsal was June 6, 2018 and the Cap Decorating/ Movie Night was June 4. Thank you for everything, Educare! You are awesome!

Enroll at Legacy VAPA
VAPA still may accept students on a space-available basis. Call us for more info. Choose Legacy VAPA! We're here for you!

Legacy VAPA Video Highlights: 2017-18
A year in the life of Legacy Visual and Performing Arts High School, 2017-18. The theme for this year was "Overcoming Adversity", and a great year it was!

Arts Integration at it's Best: Humanitas at Legacy VAPA
Congratulations to Ms. Holland, Ms. Alvarez, and their Humanitas classes (art and history) for their wonderful final project of the 2017-18 school year presenting a snapshot of resistance movements in th United States History in museum-like displays all over campus including student videos linked with student-created QR Codes! Both techy AND artfully done!


Evelyn Martinez Earns Honorable Mention in Show Search Competition
Congrats, Evelyn Martinez, who was awarded an Honorable Mention Award for her all-original 10-Minute Musical, “Unexpected” at the 2018 Show Search Finals on June 10. Congrats also to the finalists, especially high school author/composer/lyricists Xavier Reynoso, Oliviana Marie, and Lilian Mottern (winner). Evelyn was in the 2017-18 Writing for Musicals class at Legacy VAPA. Thank you, Foundation for New American Musicals, who produces the program.

Guest Artist Series: The Color Purple
Thank you, cast members of The Color Purple , who performed June 7 at Legacy VAPA as part of our Spring Guest Artist Series! The cast members performed music from the show and participated in a question and answer session. They also held a surprise audition for VAPA performers to compete for two pairs of tickets to the show which is currently playing at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. Congrats to all who sang, at literally a moment’s notice, and the winners, Raven Bealey and Ruby Barriga. Special thanks to Ms. Craig, Theatre Arts teacher, who set up the visit and The Color Purple cast members Linda Stewart (P/R), J. Daughtry (Harpo) and Carrie Compere (Sofia).

AP Lit Final Projects: Film Projects
Congratulations, VAPA AP English Lit Class for your awesome final projects: original films reinterpreting The Great Gatsby ! Wow! Stunning work! You should be proud! Thank you, Jeina Dadrass, instructor, for embracing arts integration and remembering what our students are capable of and setting the bar so high, encouraging them to succeed beyond expectations, and helping them reach further than even they believed possible.

Seniors Shine at Recital and Awards Gala Event
Congratulations to all of the Legacy VAPA Class of 2018 who were honored on May 30 in the 2018 Senior Recital and Awards Gala Event. The Academy Awards-Style Awards show featured several performances and honored the achievements of this year's wonderful senior class. Thank you to Ms. Simmons who coordinated the event with support from Ms. Suarez and the rest of the VAPA Leadership Team, Ms. Dadrass (Coordinator), Ms. Solis (Counselor), Ms. Grinner (AP), and Dr. Trimis (Principal).

VAPA's Rookie of the Year
Congratulations, Mr. Osvaldo Noriega, VAPA Teacher who was recognized on May 31 by LAUSD Human Resources, as an LAUSD Rookie Teacher of the Year! Mr. Noriega was selected out of hundreds of nominees as 1 of only 3 new teachers from Local District East including both elementary and secondary teachers. There will be a formal celebration for Mr. Noriega and the other recognized teachers this August at Staples Center. Thank you , Lucy Terakelyan, LDE Teacher Quality Specialist who made the presentation to Mr. Noriega today. Thank you also Christina Rico, LDE Instructional Director, and Terri Grinner, Assistant Principal who were present for their support of Mr. Noriega.
Link Crew Training
On May 30 VAPA's new Link Crew Leaders had their very first May Development Day (orientation)! They faced many challenges together and succeeded! Link Crew is excited to welcome our new freshman in August!

Extra Mile Spring Awards: Year VI
Congrats to all who received Extra Mile Awards in our 6th Annual Extra Mile Spring Awards Ceremony on May 30! A big thank you to our teachers for their thoughtful presentations and Laura Suarez for coordinating the event.

VAPA Filmmakers at Warner Brothers
Congrats to our Legacy VAPA filmmakers celebrated May 29 at the Warner Brothers First Cut Film Screening at the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank. The event had all the ingredients of a true Hollywood premier from a red carpet and photo area, a reception for the filmmakers with gourmet food and snacks, a greeting by the studio executives, interviews with successful producers, a roundtable discussion with some of the filmmakers, and the screening of the films on a huge screen in HD. It was pretty spectacular. The screening was the capstone event for the  WB Good  First Cut program which provides students the opportunity to tell their stories in film and digital media who might not otherwise have that opportunity. The program is a collaboration with Ghetto Film School, WB Good, and the LAUSD Division of Instruction and the Arts Education Branch. Thanks so much to all of our arts/industry partners for providing the program to our students, Dr. Frances Gipson, Rory Pullens and his AEB team, and instructors Nick Adolfo and Frank Turner. And congratulations to our partners: Cortines VAPA HS, ELA Performing Arts Magnet HS, and Carson HS, and to our wonderful Legacy VAPA HS students!

Springfest: Dance 2018 Brings the House Down!
The 2018 Spring Fest concluded Friday night, May 25, featuring the wonderful dance program at Legacy VAPA. The show was stunning. The dancers who presented a gamut of styles from lyrical ballet to hip hop to Polynesian dance and everything in between, performed to a full house. It was difficult not to be moved by the performances, many choreographed by students. This IS what an arts school looks like, feels like, and performs like. As students in the crowd cheered on their friends, parents, siblings, and VAPA staff watched as dance after dance demonstrated the exceptional talent we have at VAPA. Huge thanks go out to Mr. Delgado and his tech crew who managed lights and sound and provided beautiful projections, to Mr. Adolfo and his video crew who not only recorded but live-streamed the event, to the many parents, supporters, and staff who attended, and to our amazing Dance Artist/Educator Mr. Marcelo Sanna-Picket and newcomer assistant director/choreographer Manny Hernandez. Lastly, thank you to Local District East, the Arts Education Branch, and central LAUSD for all their support.

Arts Events Calendar for 2018-19
Chcek out the new Arts Events Calendar! Make your plans now to attend Winterfest, Dancefest, the Spring Musical, and so much more!

Young Arts Presents at Legacy VAPA
Thank you, Megan Gillespie and Young Arts for a great presentation May 23 about the Young Arts program. I can’t overstate how important it is for students to learn about programs such as this. When one our young VAPA performers said to me, just after the presentation, “do you think I can do this? Should I try?”, I thought about how we must continue to encourage our students to dream big, practice hard, and be persistent. More info at  https://www.youngarts.org/  BAOA students should see your teacher or me about next steps.

Tech Theatre Program Shines
The Technical Theatre Program at Legacy VAPA High School provides an opportunity for our students to study in an arts field that is not performance-based and especially useful in a career-technical education area where there is a high need for qualified and skilled employees. Thank you to the LAUSD CTE program who provides extensive funding and professional development, the LAUSD Regional Opportunity Program (ROP) program who funds the teaching position, and the Legacy Complex for their support and understanding that students in the program are required to be trained on the equipment in our Multipurpose Room in the Legacy Performing Arts Complex. Thank you Alva Lee and Raelea Burkett, (ROP), Paige Okada (CTE), and David Manzo and Carla Barerra-Ortiz (Legacy Complex Principals of ISLC and STEAM). The VAPA Technical Theatre Program is directed by instructor, Miguel Delgado.

Legacy VAPA: Overcoming Adversity
VAPA Art Beautifies Campus
Thank you, Ms. Holland, Legacy VAPA Artist-Educator, for the wonderful work you do with our visual arts, design, and history students. Our school continues to be a magical place where young people can find their passion and start to realize their dreams in the arts and more. The work that you do in visual arts not only impacts students in your classes, it impacts every person who experiences original art, up close, as they walk out campus. These photos are from the latest batch of beautiful paintings created by Ms. Holland's students on several large canvases being installed as part of our VAPA campus beautification plans spearheaded by our Leader in Me Action Team.

Showchoir Comes to Legacy VAPA
Even when the dark comes crashing through, When you need a friend to carry you, When you’re broken on the ground, You will be found
So let the sun come streaming in
'Cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again, If you only look around,
You will be found (You will be found)

VAPA Voices Showchoir is coming to Legacy VAPA. Join one of the only showchoirs in LAUSD and the newest group at Legacy VAPA. Sing, dance, act your way through an amazing show with music from the top contemporary musicals such as Dear Evan Hansen , Rent , Next to Normal, Be More Chill , Heathers , Anastasia , and more! First round of auditions were Wed. May 23. There will be another round of auditions on Monday, July 30 at 8:30 am at the start of Showchoir camp (July 30-Aug. 3) Don’t miss your chance to be one of the showchoir’s first cast! Perform-Compete-Tour.

VAPA/STEAM Prom Celebrates at the Castaway
The Legacy VAPA/STEAM 2018 Prom, Hollywood Nights was May 19 and it certainly was a night to remember! It was everything you would want in a Senior Prom, one of our most treasured enduring high school experiences! Thank you to the Castaway Restaurant , a wonderful venue. Thank to all the staff in attendance who came to support their students. Thank you to the juniors who came to help at the event. Thank you so much to Ms. Alvarez, Senior Advisor, for all her work to realize the vision of our senior cabinet and all she has done throughout the year. And thank you to our wonderful seniors, who were perfectly behaved all evening, for sharing their Prom with us. We appreciate them, we care for them, and we will always remember the time we spent with them and the impact they made on our lives!

Making a Difference-The 1960's Through Today
Legacy VAPA's 2018-19 theme is "Making a Difference-The 1960's Through Today". You will see this theme throughout our programs, classroom instruction, and events!
Springfest Instrumental Music Rocks!
Congratulations to our awesome instrumental music groups who performed in the 6th Annual Springfest music event on Friday, May 18. Special thanks to Mr. Delgado and his tech crew, Mr. Adolfo and his video crew who live streamed the event and recorded it, and to all the parents and supporters. Special thanks to Mr. Cuevas, Director of Instrumental Music. We are super proud of all of our wonderful students. And a special shout out goes out to many students who were performing their first concert and to our seniors who it who were performing in their last VAPA Springfest.

Educare ACE Program Making a Difference
Thank you,  EduCare Foundation  for the awesome 3-Day ACE Program (Achievement-Commitment-Education) you provided for the entire VAPA Freshman class May 16-18. The powerful experience left our students with confidence, compassion, and an understanding of their own needs and goals far beyond everyone’s expectations. We will be providing the ACE experience for our seniors in June (1-day) and all of our new Freshmen at the start of the school year. Moving forward, this will be an annual event for Legacy VAPA.

VAPA Becomes a Leader in Me School
VAPA is excited to continue our journey as a Leader in Me School. Tuesday, 5/22, was the Action Planning Day for our teams! Thank you, Franklin-Covey! Thank you to our awesome Leader in Me Student and Staff Leadership Teams. This Fall we will be implementing a school-wide Seven Habits of Highly Successful People program for all of our students and the LIM Action Teams have big plans!

Legacy Softball and Baseball Have Stellar Seasons!
Congratulations, Legacy Softball, for a spectacular season. JV were undefeated and varsity, after winning the League Championship, continued into two rounds of play-offs before falling to a powerful Roosevelt HS team in a close 4-3 loss on May 14. Thank you to Coach Tudon, Assistant Coach Noriega, parents, and supporters. We are super proud of our girls!

Congrats, Legacy Baseball Team, for a great year! The team ended their 2017-18 season and their run for the city title when they fell to a tough Port of Los Angeles HS team in CIFLA Play-offs on May 22. Thank you Coach Sergio and his staff, parents, and supporters.

Legacy Swim Team Competes For a Second Season
Congratulations, Legacy Swim Team, doing an awesome job in their second League Finals on May 5! This is only our 2nd year fielding a swim team and league results were: Varsity Boys 5th/6, Varsity Girls 5th/6, and JV Girls 2nd/6. Thank you, families and supporters, Coach Giron, and congrats again, Legacy Swim!.

Cinco de Mayo @ VAPA
Our Second Annual Cinco de Mayo celebration on May 3 was a huge success! Thanks to Leadership for organizing and bringing to life this fun event! Thank you to all our performers and organizers! Thank you to Mr. Adolfo and Our Media Arts team who memorialized the event on video at  https://youtu.be/Rv3F9n_mu2w  and at our YouTube Channel at  https://www.youtube.com/user/vapatelevision  @legacyvapa @vaparocks

Legacy VAPA Overcoming Adversity: Safe Schools
New Tip Line at VAPA
Legacy Visual and Performing Arts High School is excited to offer a new service for our students who see or learn about dangerous or concerning issues at VAPA and/or the Legacy High School Complex. Tips are anonymous and will be investigated by VAPA and LAUSD staff as soon as possible after being reported. Please note another option is to report any concerns directly to Legacy VAPA teachers and staff by dropping into the office, calling 323-357-7531 or e-mailing Dr. Trimis at [email protected].

Informational Materials at VAPA
Have you checked out our flier, brochure, and new website at www.vapalegacy.com? On the website all of our social media platforms are also linked (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, PodBean, YouTube).

College Signing Day at VAPA
May 1 was the day! College Signing Day at Legacy Visual and Performing Arts High School and across the nation! As I looked out across our group of super talented, artistic, smart, and creative seniors, I thought about how truly fortunate we are to share this time of our lives together, all of our teachers and staff who have seen classes of students come and go, and these seniors who will move on in their lives, on to college, on to career, on to start families and make a difference in the world. We wish them all the best. We love them, we appreciate them, and we know they will do great things! @lausdLDE @vaparocks

Warren Christopher Scholarship Runner-Up
Congratulations, Karen Ibarra (VAPA, 2020), just announced as a runner-up for the prestigious Warren Christopher Scholarship. Karen will receive a $500 scholarship as part of her award. Karen is remarkable...as a scholar, as an artist, as an athlete, and as a young lady. She is a member of the Legacy Swim Team, plays violin in the VAPA Mariachi Ensemble and Orchestra, is on the VAPA Academic Decathlon Team, and is involved in the VAPA Theatre and Writing for Musicals Program. Her monologue and solos in the Fall Musical Theatre Workshop production of “Real Life” were stunning. We are super proud of her! Scholarship Info:  https://www.calfund.org/warren-christopher-scholarship-fund/  Candle Light (from “Real Life”):  https://open.spotify.com/track/3MhcsaeCLBpuTi1L0KAdsF…

Legacy VAPA Overcoming Adversity in Life
A Year of Musical Theatre at VAPA
It’s been just over a year since Show Search, the Foundation for New American Musicals’ signature competition for original musicals held their 2017 competition. Quite a bit has happened in the last year for musicals! On the heals of La La Land , The Greatest Showman hit theaters, Hamilton came to Los Angeles and LAUSD, and while Dear Evan Hanson was winning 6 Tonys including Best Musical, VAPA’s own musical theatre writing team of Jessica Nava and Maria Hernandez’ musical, Grandma’s Keeper , went to the Show Search finals and was awarded the top prize in the event at Santa Monica College. Since then, the scrappy (to steal a Lin-Manuel Miranda descriptor) musicals writing workshop of 8 students which met weekly for an hour, turned in to a full, 26 student, 10 credit-earning, transcript-recorded Writing for Musicals course, VAPA presented their first all original, Musical Theatre Workshop full production (complete with Cast Album and Gala Opening), and will produce the full production of Grandma’s Keeper in 2018-19. Also, since June 11, 2017, VAPA has produced 2 complete musicals, Elf (Fall, 2017) and Aladdin (Spring, 2018).
Color Guard Completes Second Season
Congratulations, Legacy Tiger Color Guard on a fantastic second season in the Winterguard Association of Southern California circuit! The team competed in finals at Marina HS in Huntington Beach on April 21 and had a great show! Color Guard showcased their show at Open House and Springfest, as they recruited and planned for the upcoming Fall marching season. Legacy Color Guard is directed by Coach Andy Olvera and includes students from all 3 Legacy schools (VAPA, STEAM, and ISLC). Color Guard is funded in part from Educare and the LAUSD Beyond the Bell Program.

VAPA: Best Practices in Social Media
Congratulations, Dr. Edward Trimis, Principal, Legacy Visual and Performing Arts High School, for having his article, "Shaping School Climate and Improving Communication in a Digital World" published in the May/June edition of Leadership , the journal published by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA).

Springfest: Choir
Springfest: Choir was on May 10, 2018. Congratulations to Ms. Cho, vocal ensemble, choir, and jazz choir for wonderful performances!

Aladdin Comes to VAPA
Aladdin , the Musical came to Legacy VAPA on April 18-21. The latest of several musicals at VAPA, Aladdin , featured the talents of several 9th-12th Graders and the show was spectacular! Stand-outs were Giancarlo Spiru (VAPA, '21) as Aladdin, Norene Flowers & Leihla Rodrigez (VAPA, '21) as Princess Jasmine, Emma Bayona (VAPA, '18) as the Genie, Carlos Martinez (VAPA, '18) as the Magic Carpet, Ebe Mondragon (VAPA, '18) as Iago, Ramon Carrillo (VAPA, '18) as Jafar, Jessica Nava(VAPA, '29) as the Sultan, and Mia Gordon, Aranzazu Hernandez, Norene Flowers, Jessica Lacayo, Natalie Rios & Julie Rios as the Narrators. Special thanks to Mr. Nick Adolfo and his video/photo crew, Miguel Delgado (technical director) and his sound, lights, and house crew, Ms. Cho (musical director), and Stacie Craig, Director.

VAPA Videos
Did you know there are MANY videos of VAPA events on our YouTube channel (Tiger TV). Check them out! Thank you, Mr. Adolfo!

Legacy Visual and Performing Arts High School
Dr. Edward Trimis, Principal
Ms. Terri Grinner, Assistant Principal
Ms. Jeina Dadrass, TSP Coordinator/Leadership Advisor
Ines Melendez, SAA 
Local District East
Mr. Jose Huerta, LDE Superintendent
Ms. Christina Rico, Director
LAUSD
Mr. Austin Beutner, Superintendent
Dr. Ref Rodriguez, School Board Member
Contact
Legacy Visual and Performing Arts High School
www.vapalegacy.com 
5225 Tweedy Bl.
South Gate, CA 
323-357-7531 [email protected]
We have space at VAPA! Join us! Coming soon: District-wide Magnet program and SAS Program!
Aug. 7 9th Grade Orientation
Aug. 8 10th and 11th Grade Registration Days
Aug. 9 12th Grade Registration Day
Aug. 14 1st Day of Classes
Aug. 18 Aloha Dance
Aug. 22-24 ACE Program for 9th Grade
Aug. 24 1st Home Football Game/Link Crew Tailgate
Aug. 25 Parent Engagement Kick-Off Day

www.vapalegacy.com                        
Legacy Visual and Performing Arts HS:
Preparing students for college, career, and life through the arts.